1. Field
The present application relates generally to the operation and design of analog front ends, and more particularly, to the operation and design of driver amplifiers for use in analog front ends.
2. Background
Wireless devices have become increasingly more complex resulting in more circuitry being incorporated onto smaller chips and circuit boards. For example, a conventional transmitter used in a wireless device may include multiple driver amplifiers (DA) to amplify signals in both low frequency and high frequency bands, respectively. Having a dedicated DA for a specified frequency band may achieve the desired amplification goals; however such an implementation also may have several disadvantages. For example, utilizing multiple DAs may result in increased costs in terms of die area requirements. Furthermore, other circuitry in the transmitter, such as an up-converter, may need to be modified to support multiple DA configurations, thereby increasing the complexity of the transmitter.
Accordingly, what is needed is a highly efficient wide band driver amplifier that is configured to reduce die area and transmitter design complexity in wireless devices.